American Murder: Gabby Petito: All of the Red Flags Raised in Netflix's Doc

If you happened to catch the news in August or September of 2021, you probably caught the viral story of a young woman named Gabby Petito. The 22-year-old blogger had been living her dream life with her fiancé, Brian Laundrie, travelling around the country in their van and camping out.

But as is usually the case, not everything on social media is as it seems. And the #VanLife vlogger was no exception. When Petito went missing in Wyoming, her family did everything they could to sound the alarms and find her. Then they learned that Laundrie had driven the van back to his parents' home in Florida and both he and his parents refused to cooperate with law enforcement. Instead, they had lawyered up.

That strange twist sparked national interest and plenty of boycotters outside Laundrie's parents' house, but it was too late. A short while later, officers found Petito's body in the Bridger-Teton National Forest. Her cause of death? Blunt trauma and strangulation. Immediately, all eyes went to Laundrie. 

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Unfortunately, he too had gone missing. His parents filed a report and police began searching for the 23-year-old. About a month later, his parents found his remains in the Florida park they used to visit. He had shot himself in the head and left a notebook nearby that took responsibility for Petito's death. 

While the facts are clear and the story has been exhausted in the news, Netflix is doing its thing and re-examining the case through fresh interviews. In the three-part American Murder: Gabby Petito, family members and friends of Petito's unveil new details about what happened behind-the-scenes. Here are just some of the red flags the docuseries uncovers in hindsight. 

Friends were suspicious of Brian Laundrie

The docuseries was made with the full support of Petito's family, and they're featured throughout. However, the series also interviews two of Petito's female friends and her ex-boyfriend, who all raise red flags about Laundrie. One friend to both of them recalls the time Laundrie stayed with her family after graduation because he was sleeping on a friend's couch and all of his belongings were in his car. 

Another friend of Petito's recalls how standoffish Laundrie was when she finally met him, and how he acted more like Petito's father than her boyfriend. She also talks about the bad vibes he gave off from her conversations with Petito and admits she was worried. Then there's the ex-boyfriend, whom Petito came closest to telling about the physical abuse she was suffering. Petito told him she had an escape plan, but he never knew more than that. 

Police pulled over and separated the couple

One of the most infuriating parts of the docuseries comes via resurfaced bodycam footage from police the day they pulled Petito and Laundrie over. A bystander had seen Laundrie hit his fiancée while driving and called it in, and when police looked, Petito had bruises and marks on her body. However, because Laundrie also had marks on his face and the couple agreed that Petito had instigated it, the cops didn't think much of it. 

Instead, they gave Laundrie money to stay in a motel and sent Petito off in the van and told them to separate for the night. They may have done so because the van was registered to Petito, but many criticized the police afterward for the way they treated and laughed with Laundrie on camera. 

Laundrie had the van

One of the biggest frustrations for those who wanted Laundrie to face justice and confess what really happened to the family was the fact that he was never in the same room as law enforcement. Despite taking the van, which was registered to Petito, after she vanished, police never found a way to interrogate him. 

Because he had gotten a lawyer immediately and because his parents refused to help with the investigation, so many people who were hurt by this incident never got the answers they needed. 

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Petito's mom on the biggest red flag

Although Gabby's mom, Nichole Schmidt, doesn't talk about it in the doc, she sat down for an interview in which she discussed the biggest red flag that she didn't even know was a red flag at the time: her daughter's mood. These days, as Schmidt works to raise awareness about domestic abuse and signs to look for, she says that's one of the most important things to consider. 

"I didn't know it at the time, I thought she was just stressed out but her attitude and mood was just so… I could use the word bipolar almost," she said. "There was just anger and aggression. She would call me up crying. She was off, she wasn't herself," she continued.

"Think about the person you love, don't necessarily look at the abuser, look at the actions and the mood of the person you think something's wrong with, something's off with, and start asking questions." 

Making something positive out of tragedy

Petito's four parents, Schmidt, her husband Jim Schmidt, her ex-husband Joe Petito and his wife, Tara Petito, all participate in the documentary as they continue trying to prevent what happened to their daughter from happening to anyone else. They co-created the Gabby Petito Foundation, which in addition to raising awareness, works to create harsher laws and policies for law enforcement responding to reports of abuse and missing persons. 

So, it makes sense that they hope this documentary serves as a red flag for anyone who watches it, and that they can help their loved ones if they ever find themselves in a similar position. 

"We get emails all the time from people saying, 'Gabby saved my life. She gave me the power to get out of my abusive relationship,'" Schmidt said last year. "Survivors are coming out and telling their stories. Laws are changing and we're going to keep fighting."

American Murder: Gabby Petito is now streaming on Netflix.